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The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA) released a 287-page report yesterday that outlined just how much addiction and substance abuse costs local, state and national government. Looking at government spending data from 2005 (the latest available), they found 96% ($357.4 billion) went to “shovel up the consequences and human…
Maine Association of Substance Abuse Programs (MASAP), Maine Alliance to Prevent Substance Abuse (MAPSA), Maine Alliance for Addiction Recovery (MAAR) and AdCare Educational Institute of Maine are co-sponsoring some free trainings for people that are concerned about alcohol and drug related problems in Maine and would like to make a difference by advocating for prevention,…
Almost 10 years ago, the citizens of Maine approved 61% to 39% a statute to make marijuana legal for people with cancer, HIV/AIDs and other medical problems, provided they have a letter from their doctor indicating the treatment is legitimate. The Catch-22 here is that there is no legal way for those who are eligible…
A recent report from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University shows that a new intensive case management approach to help drug-addicted women on poverty provides better outcomes for sobriety and employment than the current employment-first approach. The new approach views addiction as a chronic disease vs. a temporary problem.…
The Marin Institute is having a contest to combat the bombardment of beer ads viewed during the Super Bowl. Called the Free the Bowl Contest, Marin will award prizes like a Macbook laptop and iPods to the creators of the best 30- to 60-second anti-beer ads. Why the contest? According to the Marin Institute’s website:…
MillerCoors has agreed to remove caffeine and other stimulants from its line of alcoholic energy drinks, Sparks. The agreement, announced on December 18th, was reached with the attorneys general of 13 states, including Maine’s AG Steve Rowe. The attorneys general accused MillerCoors of marketing the Sparks alcoholic energy drink to minors and implying that alcoholic…
As you probably know by now, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 263-171 to approve the Wall Street bailout bill on Friday, a few days after the Senate approved the new bailout measure 74-25. President George Bush swiftly signed the bill into law. Attached to the bill was the mental health/addiction parity bill sponsored in…
Behavioral Healthcare, a monthly publication for managers and clinicians in the substance abuse and mental health fields, recently profiled the vice presidential candidates and their views on behavioral health. The publication took a look at the records of Democratic nominee Senator Joe Biden of Delaware and Republican nominee Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska and their…
Health care is a huge issue in this upcoming election. The Kaiser Family Foundation has created a website that “provides analysis of policy issues, regular public opinion surveys, daily news updates, video of speeches and debates from the campaign trail, original interviews and resources for journalists covering the election.” The site, health08.org, specifically focuses on…
Advocates around the country are asking people to call their US Senators and Representatives today and tell them to “pass the mental health and substance abuse parity legislation before Congress adjourns.” This long overdue bill requires health insurers to provide the same coverage for substance abuse and mental health issues as they do for any…